5 Ways to Engineer “They Get Me Moments” That Build Trust and Generate Sales
by Ry Schwartz
This quick guide is all about engineering those sacred “OMG they get me” moments…
You know…
Those moments where your reader accuses you of advanced sorcery or an over-developed pineal gland.
The ones that cause your prospect to lean in nose to screen, nodding along like a motorized bobblehead while uttering “SO MUCH YES” on verbal loop.
It’s a trust builder.
Credibility booster.
Value giver.
And a powerful precursor to generating profits.
Fortunately for marketers and copywriters, it’s also more skill than art, and can be engineered by using any of these 5 strategies below as entry points:
1. Story
Much has been said about story, but not enough has been said about its true purpose when it comes to writing high-converting email copy.
Contrary to popular belief (and application), story is NOT about “revealing your personality”, displaying vulnerability, or proving how transparent and relatable you are through a series of gratuitous weekend overshares.
TMI ≠ ROI
You’re simply a proxy for your customer.
A mirror.
A surrogate.
A chance for them to face their fears, acknowledge past failures, overcome obstacles and achieve outcomes that are too painful or scary for them to face without that much needed degree of separation.
Keep this in mind next time you tell a story in your email, and I promise you’ll connect more deeply with your reader.
2. “ABD” – Always be diagnosing.
Average marketers list out symptoms.
Great copywriters point out the diagnosis (which earns them the right to prescribe the treatment)
You build instant trust and credibility when you can not only mirror back a symptom, but tie it to a diagnosis that gives your prospect greater insight, clarity and hope around their behaviors and actions.
Not only does this setup the sale much more powerfully (as opposed to just listing symptoms), but the ‘aha’ and revelation you give your prospect is valuable in of itself, and an incredible trust builder.
Typical marketer:
Symptoms (Pain) → Treatment (Solution)
Smart marketer:
Symptoms (Pain) → Hidden Diagnosis (What the pain really means) → Hopeful Prognosis → Treatment (Offer).
Check it out for yourself:
What’s more powerful?
“You find yourself procrastinating, chasing every shiny object to hit your inbox”
vs.
“You procrastinate, chasing every shiny object to hit your inbox because you lack the trust to fully commit to your current list building strategy!” You want to do the work – you just want to know that all those hours spent creating epic content will have a payoff ”.
3. Think the unthinkable.
It’s one thing to tell your prospect what they’re thinking on a superficial level.
It’s another to reflect back the secret thoughts they’ve submerged beneath layers of fear, guilt, shame, and unflattering selfies.
Ie.
“You’re probably wondering how many more times you can experience a “blow up” with your teenage daughter”
Vs..
“You’re in dire straights, wondering how many more blowups and emotional a-bombs you can really withstand before the despair becomes too much, and you can no longer push away the insidious thought of throwing in the towel and kicking her ungrateful butt out.”
4. Reflect the Context (and tell them what it means).
There’s a reason your prospect is getting your email.
Maybe they opted in for a lead magnet 10 seconds ago, ordered a program, or signed up for a webinar.
At the very least, they opened an email (even that tells you something).
Whatever it was, there was a micro-action at play.
And much like diagnosing, your prospects (actually, all humans) crave meaning behind their actions.
Unfortunately, our world moves so quick and our minds so scattered that we rarely take a second to see the meaning behind the things we do.
Enter YOU… who has the duty to reflect it.
Did they just opt-in for your lead magnet? What does it mean about the problem they’re desperate to solve.
Did they sign up for a webinar but not attend? Reflect back how overwhelmed they probably are.
Every action or in-action offers a chance for you to immediately offer meaning, insight, and next steps for your prospect which puts you in a powerful leadership role.
For those of your familiar with Cialdini, this is indeed the authority principle at play with some “consistency” thrown in for good measure.
5. Be more specific (with everything you say).
Life is lived specifically.
When you write in abstract generalizations, you give your prospect the chance to mentally opt-out and say “that ain’t me, that’s the other guy”.
One of the most powerful ways to optimize your emails for “aha moments” is to do a “specificity sweep”.
ie.
“You sit at your desk” vs. “You sit at your $80 Ikea fold up”
“I hopped in my car” vs. “I labored into my shitty 1997 Tercel”
“Show up live and be ready to take notes” vs. Show up at 11:49 sharp with a fresh Evernote page (and fresher pot of coffee) in front of you”
Sure, you won’t be 100% right all the time.
Even if you have a really good grasp of your audience, you’ll be wrong more often than you’re right.
But the beautiful thing is, your reader will ZERO in on the 20% of your copy that speaks directly and specifically to their situation… and in turn, appreciate that you “get it”.
And even when you’re wrong, the specifics add elements of realness and color to your copy that keep readers engaged and reading.
It gives the subtle feeling that the problems and solutions you’re talking about in your copy are grounded in the REAL WORLD (where Tercels and Evernote files exist)… not in an imaginary Neverland that they don’t, and never plan to inhabit.
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